The Hive wasn't worried about God's Left Hand's offer. The negotiations for the surrender of the Shandal Empire didn't allow it to attack any of the invaders. Also, it limited the influence that it could have on the political environment of the world.
The invaders had cut it off from any event, allowing it to survive only inside the blue dome and in the wrecked regions around it.
That wasn't an ideal solution for the Empire, but preventing its destruction was already an outstanding achievement. The blue dome had even allowed it to retain many powerful assets and resources, making its situation less dramatic than it looked.
Noah and the Demons discussed God's Left Hand's offer in private. Chasing Demon had already agreed to send them in the blue dome to see what the Empire could give them, but the trio wanted to set their story straight first.
The matters of the separate dimension under the Odrea nation were a secret that only the higher-ups of the Hive knew about. The fact that Shandal's will resided in a palace filled with divine items wasn't a piece of information that they could share with the rest of the world.
God's Left Hand's interest in Flying Demon hinted that she wasn't aware of the separate dimension. Revealing to the powerhouse of the Empire that her Patriarch had enough items to save his organization didn't seem the best approach.
Yet, the three of them didn't have a way to justify Flying Demon's individuality. It made them wonder if Chasing Demon had revealed something already and whether they could speak openly to the powerhouse of the Empire.
Any message directed to Chasing Demon remained unanswered in that period. Noah and the Demons had a special relationship with him, but it seemed that he was too busy to handle those small matters.
His silence was a sign that he trusted the three of them though, so they prepared for their trip back in the old continent.
The truth was that the Hive would accept any help at the moment. Even dealing with the organization that they had fought only recently was better than remaining alone to see the Elbas family growing thanks to its alliance with the Ravaging Demon sect.
The alliance with the Council would eventually arrive too. Still, that matter was more complicated since there were grudges between Chasing Demon and the organization in charge of his old home. Both of them needed to look past their old conflicts if they wanted to focus on the Ravaging Demon sect.
There was someone else willing to join Noah and the Demons in the trip to the blue dome. About half of assets salvaged from the Odrea nation had remained behind during the war against the Empire. The wanted to enjoy their well-earned break from the struggles of the battlefields.
All of them had benefited from the resources of the Hive, reaching the heroic ranks in no time and managing to heal injuries that they had carried for decades.
However, there was a loud question in their minds that no resources and techniques could silence. They wanted to know why they had to suffer for so long if their Patriarch had died more than fifty thousand years ago.
Noah didn't tell them about Shandal's separate dimension, but the libraries of the Hive described how the Empire had fallen and reappeared across the years.
That inevitably left the citizens of the Odrea nation full of questions that undermined the very foundation of their determination. They eventually felt that their struggles to survive had been pointless.
Disheartened cultivators would lead to stagnating heroic assets. Those experienced soldiers couldn't explore the depths of their individualities if their minds were stuck on existential dilemmas.
Noah had given a vague explanation to the citizens of the Odrea nation once he learnt about their problems. It was in the Hive's interest to remove their bottlenecks, but Noah intended to make them drop their desire to join the meeting with the Empire.
That negotiation was too important to let cultivators full of anger and hate join it. Any outburst wouldn't endanger their lives because of the pacts in place, but it could affect the meeting negatively.
Nevertheless, the cultivators of the Odrea nation didn't want to drop their requests. They had already figured out that Shandal had something to do with their prolonged imprisonment. They could find peace only by meeting those responsible for their suffering.
Noah eventually agreed to let a few of them join him and the Demons in their trip to the Empire.
Lisa's familiar face soon appeared in the area of the separate dimension that the trio was expanding to reach the regions near the blue dome. She had managed to become a heroic cultivator in the years after her liberation. Yet, she was still at the bottom of the fourth rank due to her past injury.
There were two men with her. They both were rank 4 cultivators in the liquid stage of the fourth rank, and their stern expressions showed how determined they were to hear the Empire's version of the story.
Noah's gaze went on one of those men. He was tall, with bulging muscles visible even if he wore a loose robe. His skin was dark, and he had short curly hair. Still, his facial features were soft and reminded Noah of a woman from more than a century in the past.
Lisa couldn't help but avoid Noah's gaze when she sat at some distance from the three rank 5 cultivators. Her behavior made him understand that the man had some connection with Nina and that Lisa had probably brought him along to appeal to Noah's good-will.
"You can speak," Noah said when he noticed that the man stared at his back with an intense expression.
The man's eyes widened, and he fell to his knees to kowtow toward Noah. Lisa and the other cultivator did the same when they saw him leaving the Demons to near them.
"L-lord Demon Prince," The man said as he raised his head to look at Noah's floating figure, "I'm Luke, Nina's grandson."
Noah didn't answer but continued to inspect Luke with a cold gaze.
"Why are we dealing with the Empire?" Luke eventually asked when he saw that Noah had no intention to help him through his questions. "Why aren't we avenging the countless deaths that have swept out home due to the whims of a god?"
Noah didn't answer immediately. He knew that it was hard for such a young heroic existence to accept Shandal's actions, but there wasn't much that he could say to lift his morale.
The unfairness of the human world was something that he had accepted even before transmigrating. There were no real answers to Luke's question.
"Because we can't," Noah eventually said. "Find your peace or the power to claim your vengeance. Anything else is a waste of your breath."
Noah was about to turn then, but he added something with a voice that was a mixture of human words and growls before rejoining the Demons. "Be sure to behave there."